Upgrading to ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0 best practices

KB Article: 1009039
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1009039

Upgrading to ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0 best practices
Purpose
This article provides steps which may be useful when upgrading to ESX 4.0 and vCenter Server 4.0.


Note: This article assumes that you have read the vSphere Upgrade Guide. This upgrade guide contains definitive information. If there is a discrepancy between the guide and this article, assume that the guide is correct.

Note: ESX 4.0 Update 1a is available through Update Manager. For information related to upgrading to Update 1, see ESX 4.0 to ESX Update 1 (1016209).
Resolution
Note: Read the VMware vSphere 4.0 Release Notes for known installation issues.

On the vCenter Server
1.Make sure your hardware requirements are compliant:


•Processor – 2 CPUs 2.0GHz or higher Intel or AMD x86 processors. Processor requirements may be higher if the database runs on the same machine.
•Memory – 3GB RAM. RAM requirements may be higher if your database runs on the same machine.
•Disk storage – 2GB. Disk requirements may be higher if your database runs on the same machine.
•Networking – 1Gbit recommended.


2.Verify that your existing database is supported with vCenter Server 4.0. If it is not, upgrade your existing database to a supported type:


•Supported Microsoft SQL Server Databases:


•Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express

Note: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express is intended to be used for small deployments of up to 5 hosts and/or 50 virtual machines.


•Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard edition (SP1, SP2, SP3)
•Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard edition (SP2, SP3) 64bit
•Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise edition (SP1, SP2, SP3)
•Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise edition (SP2, SP3) 64bit
•Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition
•Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition 64bit
•Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition
•Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition 64bit


•Oracle Database Support:


•Oracle 10g Standard edition (Release 1 [10.1.0.3.0])
•Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 1 [10.1.0.3.0])
•Oracle 10g Standard edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.1.0])
•Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.1.0])
•Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.1.0]) x64
•Oracle 11g Standard edition
•Oracle 11g Enterprise edition


3.Make a full backup of the vCenter database.


4.Make sure that you have the following permissions:


•Microsoft SQL:


•Grant the System DSN user of the vCenter Database db_owner privileges on the vCenter database.
•Grant the System DSN user of the vCenter Database db_owner privileges on the MSDB database.

Note: The db_owner privileges on the MSDB database are required for installation and upgrade only.


•Oracle:


•Grant dba permissions to the vCenter user.


5.Ensure that your ODBC System DSN is using the proper driver.

Microsoft SQL must use the SQL Native Client driver.


6.Stop the vCenter service. This step is recommended, especially if the vCenter database is on a remote system.

Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > VMware VirtualCenter Server.


7.Log in to your vCenter Server with a Local Administrator account on your Windows system to run the upgrade.


8.Ensure no processes are running that conflict with the ports that vCenter uses.


9.Configure new vSphere 4.0 licences.

On the ESX Server
1.Make sure your hardware is compliant on the Hardware Compatibility Guide.

This includes:

•System compatibility

•I/O compatibility (Network and HBA cards)

•Storage compatibility

•Backup software compatibility


2.Make sure your current ESX version is supported for upgrade:

•Limited support for ESX 2.5.5. For more information, see the vSphere Upgrade Guide.

Note: There is no upgrade support for ESX 2.5.4 and below.


•Full upgrade support for ESX 3.0.1 and higher.

Note: ESX 3.0.0 needs to be upgraded to ESX 3.0.1 or higher before upgrading to ESX 4.0.


3.Server hardware for the ESX 4.0 must be 64bit compatible.


4.Make sure Intel VT is enabled in the host's BIOS.


5.If a SAN is connected to the ESX host, detach the fiber before continuing with the upgrade.

Note: Do not disable HBA cards in the BIOS.


6.Confirm that all virtual machines are migrated or powered down on the ESX host.


7.Upgrade to ESX Server 4.0.
Additional Information
For related information, see:
•Upgrading virtual machine on ESX 4.0 best practices (1010675)
•Installing ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0 best practices (1009080)

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Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job

Read more: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2009/02/10-ways-to-use.html#ixzz0qhkEdY00


Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job

Searching for a job can suck if you constrain yourself to the typical tools such as online jobs boards, trade publications, CraigsList, and networking with only your close friends. In these kinds of times, you need to use all the weapons that you can, and one that many people don’t—or at least don’t use to the fullest extent, is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has over thirty-five million members in over 140 industries. Most of them are adults, employed, and not looking to post something on your Wall or date you. Executives from all the Fortune 500 companies are on LinkedIn. Most have disclosed what they do, where they work now, and where they’ve worked in the past. Talk about a target-rich environment, and the service is free.

Here are ten tips to help use LinkedIn to find a job. If you know someone who’s looking for a job, forward them these tips along with an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. Before trying these tips, make sure you’ve filled out your profile and added at least twenty connections

1.Get the word out. Tell your network that you’re looking for a new position because a job search these days requires the “law of big numbers” There is no stigma that you’re looking right now, so the more people who know you’re looking, the more likely you’ll find a job. Recently, LinkedIn added “status updates” which you can use to let your network know about your newly emancipated status.

2.Get LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues. A strong recommendation from your manager highlights your strengths and shows that you were a valued employee. This is especially helpful if you were recently laid off, and there is no better time to ask for this than when your manager is feeling bad because she laid you off. If you were a manager yourself, recommendations from your employees can also highlight leadership qualities.
3.Find out where people with your backgrounds are working. Find companies that employ people like you by doing an advanced search for people in your area who have your skills. For example, if you’re a web developer in Seattle, search profiles in your zip code using keywords with your skills (for example, JavaScript, XHTML, Ruby on Rails) to see which companies employ people like you.

4.Find out where people at a company came from. LinkedIn “Company Profiles” show the career path of people before they began work there. This is very useful data to figure out what a company is looking for in new hires. For example, Microsoft employees worked at Hewlett-Packard and Oracle.

5.Find out where people from a company go next. LinkedIn’s “Company Profiles” also tell you where people go after leaving the company. You can use this to track where people go after leaving your company as well as employees of other companies in your sector. (You could make the case that this feature also enables to figure out which companies to avoid, but I digress.)

6.Check if a company is still hiring. Company pages on LinkedIn include a section called “New Hires” that lists people who have recently joined the company. If you have real chutzpah, you can ask these new hires how they got their new job. At the very least you can examine their backgrounds to surmise what made them attractive to the new employer.

7.Get to the hiring manager. LinkedIn’s job search engine allows you to search for any kind of job you want. However, when you view the results, pay close attention to the ones that you’re no more than two degrees away from. This means that you know someone who knows the person that posted the job—it can’t get much better than that. (Power tip: two degrees is about the limit for getting to hiring managers. I never help friends of friends of friends.) Another way to find companies that you have ties to is by looking at the “Companies in Your Network” section on LinkedIn’s Job Search page.

8.Get to the right HR person. The best case is getting to the hiring manager via someone who knows him, but if that isn’t possible you can still use LinkedIn to find someone inside the company to walk your resume to the hiring manager or HR department. When someone receives a resume from a coworker even if she doesn’t know the coworker, she almost always pays attention to it.

9.Find out the secret job requirements. Job listings rarely spell out entirely or exactly what a hiring manager is seeking. Find a connection at the company who can get the inside scoop on what really matters for the job. You can do this by searching for the company name; the results will show you who in your network connects you to the company. If you don’t have an inside connection, look at profiles of the people who work at the company to get an idea of their backgrounds and important skills.

10.Find startups to join. Maybe this recession is God telling you it’s time to try a startup. But great startups are hard to find. Play around with LinkedIn’s advanced search engine using “startup” or “stealth” in the keyword or company field. You can also narrow by industry (for example, startups in the Web 2.0, wireless, or biotech sectors). If large companies can’t offer “job security,” open up your search to include startups.

11.Build your network before you need it. As a last tip, no matter how the economy or your career is doing, having a strong network is a good form of job security. Don’t wait until times are tough to nurture your network. The key to networking (or “schmozing”), however, is filled with counter-intuitiveness. First, it’s not who you know—it’s who knows of you. Second, Great schmoozers are not thinking “What can this person do for me?” To the contrary, they are thinking, “What can I do for this person?” For more on schmoozing, read “The Art of Schmoozing.”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are two more ways I can help you in your job search. First, for an aggregation of hundreds of newly posted jobs, check out Jobs.alltop. Second, to really stay on top of what’s the latest news about LinkedIn, go to Linkedin.alltop; this will turn you in a true LinkedIn power user. Just remember me when you’re rich and famous!

Addendum: "Using LinkedIn to Find a Job" by Kaye Monty



Read more: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2009/02/10-ways-to-use.html#ixzz0qhkjFm3B


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2009 Podcasts >>
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